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CHALFANT: EARLY CHINESE WRITING 24: 
to designate years. This peculiarity, together with the general style of writing, 
suggest a period at or near that of the “ tortoise-shell” inscriptions referred to here- 
after. The inscription was presumably on the body of the tripod, and in case it 
covered the entire surface, the vessel must have been at least three feet in cireum- 
ference. So heavy a bronze object would be hard to destroy, and this may account 
for its having survived the ravages of time. 
The habit of inscribing bronze vessels and implements was in vogue among the 
Shinese at a very early date. Inscriptions upon sacrificial vessels are usually in 
conventional language, affording no valuable historical data. Halberd-heads often 
have a single symbol engraved or embossed upon the butt, such as that for halberd, 
war, army, lightning. Others have two or more characters giving names of cities, 
which may be trademarks. Numerals and dates frequently occur on swords, hal- 
berds, and cross-bow triggers, which are supposed to be check-marks made by the 
inspector of arms. Old bronze hatchets and chisels sometimes have marks cut into 
the surface, probably for the purpose of identifying ownership. In general, very 
few Chinese inscriptions of ancient date afford any information of moment. 
In view of this, the San Edict. stands almost alone as an inscription furnishing 
definite information, unless we except the Standard Weights and Measures of 
Ch‘in Shih Huang-ti (B. C. 240-230), upon which was inscribed the edict for uni- 
formity with the reign and year. Should it be proved that the date affixed to 
the San Edict is a cycle year-sign, then it must be later than the reign of Wu Wang, 
and its purport would be the confirmation of title to a domain presumably acquired 
at an earlier date. 
In passing it may be noted that the Chinese cycle consists of a period of sixty 
years. Each year has a distinguishing title called the “year sign,’ 
posed of two characters selected from. the twenty-two signs known as the Ten Stems 
) 
which is com- 
and Twelve Branches. Chinese chronology is based upon the succession of the 
cycles. The first year of the first cycle coincides with the year 2687 B. C., com- 
puted from known dates in Chinese history. 
There is, however, some doubt as to the exact period when the cycle-system was 
adopted for fixing the succession of years, and there is much to warrant the suppo- 
sition that the cycle-signs were in use for days long before they became current as 
year-signs. The late Dr. Edkins was of the opinion that these twenty-two symbols 
were chronological signs imported from Babylonia at a very early time. Just what 
his proofs were I am unable to state. 
